Took a day trip to Salzburg, home of Mozart, and a 2-hour train ride from Munich. Once again, it was back to the alps--Salzburg is in a truly beautiful setting. For some reason both my sister and I were in a low-key mood so we were not interested in racing around to see everything on the guidebook must-see list. And it helped that both of us have been there before. So this visit we just enjoyed a horse-drawn carriage ride around the old part of town, poked our noses into a church and a few of the little shops, and enjoyed people watching from an outdoor cafe.
The carriage ride was quite nice and the church quite baroquely frilly, although I don't understand why the Mary figure behind the altar needed to be flanked by gilt Roman soldiers with swords ready. There was even a cherub with a drawn sword. My guess is that this was done when the Catholic and Protestant duchys were trying to slaughter each other on a regular basis.
Lunch was another matter. We ate at a famous cafe in Mozart Plaz and the food was less than inspiring. And then, because Salzburg is the birthplace of sacher torte, we decided to share a slice. What a disappointment! It had absolutely no flavor except sweet. After wandering a bit more, the rain was starting to come down so we grabbed a taxi back to the train station. No camels spotted on this train trip.
Our last day in Munich was just a bit of shopping and people watching and stocking up on some chocolate. Yes, we haven't seen everything in Munich, but we have enjoyed what we did see. We finished the day with a last beer and weiner schnitzel (I am officially schnitzeled out at this point).
Tomorrow we are off to Nuremburg for 1 day and then we catch a boat for a 1-week cruise on the Danube. Not sure how much internet connection I will have so there might be a week long hiatus on the blog posts.
A FEW RANDOM COMMENTS
WEATHER: It seems to always rain at 4:30. Maybe this is an alps thing, or maybe this is a springtime thing, or maybe just because we are visiting. Of course, it has been raining at other times too, but all of the sunny, blue-sky days have ended in rain at 4:30. Go figure.
LITTER: There is none. The roads are just lovely scenery and no garbage. Makes me wonder why we can't achieve this at home.
CITY COUNCIL HOUSE: The local seat of government in any city is called the rathaus, which I think is quite apt. I can think of a few government buildings at home that should be called rathaus. Enough said.
BEER: I'm not a big beer lover, but I must admit that the beer here is really good. I think that is due, in large part, to the strict laws in Bavaria on what can go into beer--water, yeast, and grains. That is it. No preservatives or other additives. I am looking at beer with newly opened eyes.
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